Hello from Bostonian commuter
07-07-19, 05:48 PM
#1
No Motor Vehicles
Thread Starter
Hello from Bostonian commuter
Hi!
My name is John. I was not born in 2001, I'm a bit older than that
I live in Boston and have commuted mostly by bike mostly since about 2010, with some other modes mixed in.
I own three garage-sale bikes. The CCM cost $10 in 1991 or so. It's getting real rusty now and the bottom bracket has seen better days. The Schwinn electroforgery cost $60 in 2016 in great condition (that is, without the upgrades you need to make a '70s Schwinn livable.) The Chrisson is a July '19 Craigslist find at $100.
In June '19 I was right hooked. Not injured, whew. Now I'm seeking real brakes that work which brought me to this forum. I'm not really an enthusiast, I just want bikes to work reliably, with minimum maintenance, and (now) to stop on a dime.
Rim brakes are dead to me. Rain just means you need a towel, unless it reduces your braking, and then you might need a casket. (Okay, okay -- it is possible that there are rim brakes better than the 45-year-old low-end ones on the Schwinn and CCM. But those are the ones I know and hate.)
So step one on the journey to find better brakes is hub brakes -- rollerbrakes and drum brakes. What about discs? Their maintenance regimen sounds like it's beyond me. I'm a butcher with a wrench, and I get greasy grime everywhere. It's hard to imagine not contaminating the discs.
I'm working on setting up some Sturmey drum brakes on the Schwinn. While working on that I got distracted and bought the Chrisson bike. It's from Deutschland, mit das Shimano Röhlerbraken.
A confession. My intent in posting this is to reach the 10 post count needed to post pictures. Y'all want to see pictures of scarily rusty commuters that actually get ridden, Schwinn Frankenburbans, and bikes that somehow ended up on the wrong continent. Right? Stand by.
My name is John. I was not born in 2001, I'm a bit older than that
I live in Boston and have commuted mostly by bike mostly since about 2010, with some other modes mixed in.
I own three garage-sale bikes. The CCM cost $10 in 1991 or so. It's getting real rusty now and the bottom bracket has seen better days. The Schwinn electroforgery cost $60 in 2016 in great condition (that is, without the upgrades you need to make a '70s Schwinn livable.) The Chrisson is a July '19 Craigslist find at $100.
In June '19 I was right hooked. Not injured, whew. Now I'm seeking real brakes that work which brought me to this forum. I'm not really an enthusiast, I just want bikes to work reliably, with minimum maintenance, and (now) to stop on a dime.
Rim brakes are dead to me. Rain just means you need a towel, unless it reduces your braking, and then you might need a casket. (Okay, okay -- it is possible that there are rim brakes better than the 45-year-old low-end ones on the Schwinn and CCM. But those are the ones I know and hate.)
So step one on the journey to find better brakes is hub brakes -- rollerbrakes and drum brakes. What about discs? Their maintenance regimen sounds like it's beyond me. I'm a butcher with a wrench, and I get greasy grime everywhere. It's hard to imagine not contaminating the discs.
I'm working on setting up some Sturmey drum brakes on the Schwinn. While working on that I got distracted and bought the Chrisson bike. It's from Deutschland, mit das Shimano Röhlerbraken.
A confession. My intent in posting this is to reach the 10 post count needed to post pictures. Y'all want to see pictures of scarily rusty commuters that actually get ridden, Schwinn Frankenburbans, and bikes that somehow ended up on the wrong continent. Right? Stand by.
Last edited by jpc2001; 07-07-19 at 05:52 PM.
07-07-19, 07:31 PM
#3
Forum Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kalamazoo MI
Posts: 20,626
Bikes: Fuji SL2.1 Carbon Di2 Cannondale Synapse Alloy 4 Trek Checkpoint ALR-5 Viscount Aerospace Pro Colnago Classic Rabobank Schwinn Waterford PMount Raleigh C50 Cromoly Hybrid Legnano Tipo Roma Pista
Mentioned: 58 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3084 Post(s)
Liked 6,560 Times
in
3,763 Posts
Welcome to Bike Forums jpc2001.
07-08-19, 01:14 AM
#5
minimalist cyclist
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 1,745
Bikes: yes please
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1119 Post(s)
Liked 1,638 Times
in
943 Posts
Welcome John, I found an '75 electroforged Schwinn for $60 in great shape too. It's my favorite solo bike ride currently. Kept it original but I'm not on hills or in traffic so I can get away with it.
07-08-19, 05:44 AM
#6
No Motor Vehicles
Thread Starter
My Schwinn is my fave too! The geometry is great, the OEM saddle is great, and it's held up to 3 years of daily city use with no play in headset or BB.
The Suburban is the best version of the Varsity. It's dressed as a town bike, where the rugged (and heavy) construction is a perfect fit for the application.
The Suburban is the best version of the Varsity. It's dressed as a town bike, where the rugged (and heavy) construction is a perfect fit for the application.
